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Due to COVID-19, almost every other healthcare organization has added telehealth to its services. Virtual visits have become just as important as face-to-face ones for millions of people, opening the door for numerous opportunities to provide healthcare to people who live in rural areas or have limited opportunities for travel to hospitals or clinics every time.
With the growing use of telehealth, many healthcare organizations are wondering how to market all related services. Given the broad scope of telehealth, how do you reach out to the right audience? In our guide, we will break down everything you need to know about telehealth marketing, its challenges,, and best practices.
Telehealth, along with other innovations like 5G networks, wearable health devices, and 3D printing, plays a huge role in the modern-day healthcare industry. Telehealth, sometimes referred to as telemedicine, is the use of telecommunication technology to communicate with patients and provide long-distance clinical healthcare. Now, let’s talk a little bit more about the benefits of telehealth and how its marketing strategies work.
Telemedicine marketing is a set of strategies, tools, and methods that help healthcare organizations and telemedicine service providers promote their products online and offline. For any company that’s marketing healthcare and telehealth services, it’s crucial to reach patients who are most likely to benefit from those offerings. This is why many businesses in the healthcare landscape focus on creating content for social platforms, gathering and publishing patient testimonials, using SEO strategies to build a strong online presence, as well as resorting to other methods of attracting patients.
94% of patients who have used a telehealth service state they would do it again in the future. What makes telehealth so beneficial? Here are a few advantages:
One of the biggest reasons so many people don’t receive care on time is the distance to medical facilities and the availability of service. Most clinics and hospitals indeed work around the clock, but they often do not offer all services at all times. With telehealth, this situation changes completely, allowing people with busy schedules or living in remote locations to get access to healthcare whenever they need it.
A little less than half of the global population lives in rural communities. For many, a simple visit to a hospital can take a lot of precious time and money, as in many cases, there are either no medical facilities in these areas or they offer limited services and accommodations. Even if there is a larger city nearby, hospitals might still be too distant in cases of critical emergencies. Telemedicine services solve this problem by providing people from different areas with urgent care, reducing the risk of patients’ diseases progressing and getting worse, and improving patient-doctor communication.
Different monitoring tools and telehealth software can help patients with chronic conditions or difficult diseases that require continuous medical supervision get the assistance they need without going to the medical facility all the time. Instead, they can work with the doctors online, providing them with updates via messengers, special apps, and videoconferencing programs. As a result, patients will get better treatment without leaving the house and potentially putting their health at risk.
Sometimes, people just have too much on their plate to spend enough time on their health. Unfortunately, for many, it’s become a luxury to take a day off to have a regular check-up or ask for sick leave whenever they catch a cold. Even though it’s not the ideal solution, telemedicine services can help people quickly make appointments, have a live chat with a doctor whenever they need to, and even renew prescriptions without unnecessary visits to their doctors.
For many, telemedicine and telehealth are interchangeable terms, and for the most part, it is true. However, both have some key differences, knowing which is important prior to integrating any related services.
Telehealth:
Telemedicine:
60% of patients find telehealth services more effective than in-person appointments. This number grows every year, increasing the need for telehealth services while also presenting unique challenges.
What are some proven tactics for crafting a successful telehealth marketing plan or strategy? Combined with tools like eWizard and readiness to experiment with content creation and marketing techniques, you can achieve considerable improvements. Here are some important tips to keep in mind:
Your website is the face of your brand. You need to make it both appealing and user-friendly. Convenience is at the core of telemedicine services, meaning that your website should also be easy to navigate without any complications, such as unnecessary buttons, a huge menu, or videos that take up half the screen. Try to find a balance between nice visuals and optimized functionality because, without these two aspects, it will be hard to attract potential users.
Search engine optimization (SEO), is a process well-known to everyone working in marketing. Everyone already knows how important it is, but not every company unleashes its full potential to reach the maximum number of potential patients. Here are the main steps of a successful SEO strategy:
If you want more people to find your business organically, meaning that they will just google something and come across your page, start implementing all kinds of SEO strategies right now. According to one study, organic results that ranked first in the Google search garnered 39.8% of clicks. This is compared to 2.1% of clicks of ads that were displayed in the paid search. Include SEO in your telehealth content marketing strategy, and you’ll soon see how much of a game-changer it can be.
Organic traffic is great, and this is what you should strive to achieve. However, if your goal is to reach out to as many potential users and new patients as possible, you need to focus on both paid and non-paid ads. Google Ads is a good place to start, as it has been tested and used by thousands of marketers worldwide. Here are some statistics:
Of course, Google Ads is not the only method of paid advertising that works well. It is up to you to explore different options and choose the one that works out best for you. If Google Ads is not your preferred tool, consider influencer marketing, social media advertising, instream promotions, sponsored content, and other forms of paid ads.
Content is a powerful tool when used correctly. Use content you create to provide your target audience with unique insights and important information, some of which might even be available only in your blog. For example, let’s say you created a unique app that makes telemedicine services even more accessible. Why not talk about everything you learned on your journey of creating the app in your blog? Why did you make it in the first place? What important statistics did you learn along the way? Answer these questions in the content you produce.
Use the knowledge you and your team have accumulated over the years to educate your audience and create unique, valuable content. Nowadays, there are so many AI-powered content creation tools, content management systems, and other programs that creating high-quality content should not be a problem. Don’t forget to include collaborations with other experts in your content marketing strategy, as it is another great way to highlight your expertise and reach more patients who might be looking for more than just a healthcare provider.
Nothing will come easy. Certain challenges could be hindering the successful implementation of marketing strategies, such as:
A unique selling proposition, or USP, is a specific benefit that your business can offer to its customers that makes it a better choice compared to competitors. In other words, the USP is what makes your brand stand out. When it comes to telemedicine, there are still many features to explore, which makes finding the USP a bit easier.
However, telemedicine in its current state requires businesses to innovate and experiment, and many fear that doing something unique and new could result in losing customers and prospective patients. This is why, when it comes to developing unique selling propositions, many companies are not sure what to do. If you find yourself in the same position, consider everything you have done already and what made patients choose your services in the first place. Why is your business simply better than others? Brainstorm some ideas and answer this question honestly, and you might be surprised with the results.
One of the biggest issues many companies face is achieving the perfect level of personalization. Personalization is especially important for telehealth services, as patients who feel like they are always treated the same as everybody else will be less inclined to trust the chosen telehealth company and might even take their business elsewhere.
Let’s take a look at an example from one study. Patients who have type 1 diabetes are more used to living with the disease from a young age, and monitoring what they eat is a routine thing for them. For this group of patients, you need to create something that keeps them engaged since they already know all the nooks and crannies, and the main goal is to provide them with software that offers features that make monitoring their health easier.
When it comes to type 2 diabetes, the image of an average patient completely changes. Patients who encounter type 2 diabetes for the first time are usually unprepared for lifestyle changes, and they tend to have more difficulties when adjusting to new technology. Moreover, these patients are also more likely to suffer from other conditions, which might make using technology an even harder task. For these people, it’s important to present your solution as something easy to navigate, with the right size of text fonts and inclusive features.
As you can see, there are many different ways to personalize your product. Remember that if you want your business to stand out, you need to go even further and personalize your marketing efforts. Learn who your target audience is, research their pain points, and create a digital marketing strategy that considers all of these aspects.
Just like with almost anything these days, everyone either expects a new thing to live up to the hype or dismiss it immediately when the service or product falls short of expectations. In the healthcare industry, it’s important to give some new technology the benefit of the doubt and let companies go through the trial-and-error process before judging them too harshly. Yes, some telehealth apps are just not what we need them to be. For their functions to improve and finally start to align with patients’ needs, it’s crucial to give honest feedback about what might be lacking instead of over-criticizing.
Telehealth marketing is still in its early stages, meaning that most marketers are still getting used to its nuances and complexities. There will be many patients still not sure about what your unique offer is, and your ideal customers might not find you right away. And that’s completely fine: as long as you have a marketing plan ready and a willingness to explore new opportunities, you will succeed.
If you need help developing a successful marketing strategy, creating an exclusive app, or finding a perfect content management system, share your unique problem with the Viseven experts, and we will assist you immediately. Start saving lives by improving communication today.
